CALVIN'S BIG ADVENTURE

We only have five weeks left until Goobster's little sister Rowan is due to make her arrival, so we decided it was time to have big brother over for another sleepover with Mimi and Papa. As soon as his mama goes into labor we will pick him up and bring him here to stay for a couple of days, and we want him to see it as just another big adventure, rather than feeling as if he's being ousted from his home to make room for someone new. We'd been making plans for weeks, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans...

One Step Closer To Looking More Like A Preschool Than A Living Room

First we set up the easel Papa surprised me with some months ago. Calvin's really getting into art at home now, so we thought he might be ready for this. He was very excited to see it, spent about five minutes drawing on it, then it was back to the trucks and trains.

One thing that was a huge success was letting him help me "cook" for the first time. We tried making the strawberry and blueberry Ladybug Pops recipe I found in my Giada's Feel Good Food cookbook, and he was one happy little guy!

They DO look like ladybugs!

Of course, he loves building everything from train tracks and trucks to ferris wheels with Papa and his little pal Will.

Things that didn't go quite according to plan? Getting him to sleep alone on the sofa bed in the living room, and his very first "Back to School" shopping adventure with Mimi and Papa. He was not the least bit interested in looking at clothes. He grabbed the first t-shirt he saw with a truck on it, Papa grabbed a Pink Floyd tee for him (just out of principle, he said) and I grabbed a pair of soft black skinny jeans, and then we were off to the book department. Now this kid loves his books, but did he want to shop for one? No way! He did spot a Dora the Explorer video that he was interested in, having just been introduced to the TV show, so we grabbed that. The entire adventure lasted about fifteen minutes. Perhaps it was my fault for choosing a store that also has a toy department. I will know better next time.

On the plus side, for his Mama and Dada at least, what he missed in the way of sleep at our house, he's more than made up for since he's been home. Mimi and Papa are still trying to make up for it as well!